Malta only EU member with lower labour costs

Malta is the only EU member state that has reported a slide in its labour costs over the past 12 months.

According to Eurostat statistics published yesterday in Brussels, up to the end of September, Malta experienced a slight drop of 0.2 per cent in its total labour costs when compared to the previous 12 months.

Cuts in total labour expenses, which cover wage and non-wage costs, did not translate into lower salaries.

In fact, Maltese wages increased by 3.9 per cent; in Latvia, wages rose by a dramatic 23.9 per cent. All the other member states showed an increase in their costs, with the smallest annual increases observed in Portugal (0.1 per cent), Germany (0.5 per cent) and the Netherlands (0.6 per cent).

On the other hand, the highest hikes were registered in Latvia (23.6 per cent), Lithuania (20 per cent), Estonia (17 per cent) and Hungary (9.5 per cent).

The average increase in annual total labour costs in the EU25 at the end of September stood at 2.6 per cent.